De-Humidifier Delimma

[Limestone maker]

Hello Everyone,
so Im having some humidity Issues in my fish room. there is about 250 G water there, and sump of my 200G tank.

I installed a de-Humidifier in the room to take care of the humidity.

but seems like the more water I remove from air, the more my tanks evaporate.

so is the De-Humidifier actually doing anything to lower the humidity ?

seems like the tank evaporation and de humidifier work together to hold some humidity equilibrium in the room ?

any help or insight on this is appreciated.

 

[degibson84]

I run a de humidifier in the room with my 225. I had to. The humidity was so high due to tank being in the basement. I was starting to get "sweat" on the walls. And I was afraid it would turn to mold. You will evaporate more water from the tank but you will also lower the humidity of the room.

 

[disc1]

Yup, the drier you make the air the faster it evaporates from the tank. It's an equilibrium process. You have to make sure you have a dehumidifier that is big enough to "outrun" the tank.

 

[anbosu]

Also, it can add heat to the room, which will increase evaporation.

 

[Limestone maker]

thank you all for the help.

no sweat on the walls, yet, but the window to the balcony does get sweat and freeze up in winter. The heat from de humidifier is kind of appreciated, as its fairly cold up here in winter, should help with the heater.

I will see if I can find a larger unit to try, thank you David.

any one know what the recommended humidity levels are ? or in other words, how high does it have to be for mold to form, and for it to effect my pre engineered hardwood flooring ?

 

[Hitch08]

I've heard that anything over 50% can cause mold problems.

Also, I had one of these installed in my basement. We have a high water table in our area.

http://www.aprilaire.com/whole-house-products/whole-house-products/dehumidifier/model-1770a

 

[Sounds Fishy]

I wouldn't worry about your floor being damaged by the humidity,unless you see beads of moisture caused by humidity forming on it,making it damp.Last winter I had about 5 aquariums and 3 Rubbermaid containers all full of salt water in the kitchen due to reconstruction of my DT.The humidity must have been up up toward 100 % in that room in the winter,and the windows were fogging up repeatedly.I wasn't using a dehumidifier...and the hardwood,floor never got damp

 

[Limestone maker]

Hitch, now thats a Dehumidifier !!! I will look into one of those. looks like it can dry me after shower also !

yea I didnt see anything on the floors neither yet, perhaps Im just too worried about the mold thing. mine runs around 38-48% depending on weather outside.

 

[Hitch08]

I'm very happy with it. The installer added some duct work so that the dehumidified/exhaust air is distributed into three different areas of the basement.

Also, it drains into my sump pump hole.